The new presidency of EPFL engaged in high-level discussions with Brussels-based decision-makers, facilitated by SwissCore.
On 18 and 19 March 2025, SwissCore welcomed the new presidency of EPFL in Brussels. Professor Anna Fontcuberta i Morral and the Vice Presidents for Academic Affairs and for Strategic Initiatives, and the Associate Vice Presidents for Education, and for Research, as well as the Director and Deputy Director for International Affairs and the Chief of Staff travelled from Switzerland to re-state their institution’s commitment for a truly European R&I system, as well as to discuss current topics in research, innovation, and education at the highest political level.
EPFL is a publicly financed science and technology university based in Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland. In 2024, EPFL enrolled over 14’000 students from over 130 countries and pioneered in cutting-edge research, particularly in the area of chips, sensors, robotics, and AI. In 2025, EPFL is listed among the 20 best universities in the world for computer science and physical sciences. As a member of the EuroTech alliance, EPFL is deeply involved with the EU-wide university sector. The new presidency led by Prof. Fontcuberta i Morral, which has taken office in January 2025, therefore embraced the alliance’s annual event as an opportunity to visit Brussels and engage with EU-decision makers in ERI policy.
The programme prepared by SwissCore and the Mission of Switzerland to the EU enabled the EPFL delegation to meet with stakeholders from different services of the European Commission, as well as with representatives of the European research and education community. The presidency exchanged views on the new European skills focus, the future of the next European framework programme for research, as well as on the upcoming startup and scaleup strategy, and re-iterated that EPFL welcomes Switzerland’s re-association to Horizon Europe, the Digital Europe Programme, and ITER. A warm thanks to the Head of Mission Ambassador Rita Adam for hosting the delegation and several high-level external guests in her residence, as well as to the Belgian alumni chapter of EPFL, which gathered for a breakfast with the presidency on 19 March.
The EPFL’s short visit to Brussels concluded with the EuroTech Annual Event on the clean industrial deal, where Prof. Fontcuberta i Morral spoke on a panel about how EPFL navigates international collaboration in the face of global competition, a timely and urgent topic in the current geopolitical context.
On behalf of the entire SwissCore team, we were pleased to welcome the EPFL presidency at our offices and facilitate a dialogue between European decision-makers and EPFL as Swiss pioneers of education, research, and innovation.
On the picture from left to right: Nicolas Grandjean (Associate Vice President for Education, EPFL), Rahel Byland (Science and Technology Counsellor, SERI), Anna Fontcuberta i Morral (President, EPFL), Annalisa Buffa (Associate Vice President for Research, EPFL), Katharina Füglister (Director International Affairs, EPFL), Stéphanie Lacour (Vice President for Support for Strategic initiatives, EPFL), Ambrogio Fasoli (Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, EPFL), Gillian Olivieri (Deputy Director International Affairs, EPFL), Sandra Gillner (Advisor for Education, SwissCore), Caroline Ferguson (Chief of Staff, EPFL), and Laurin Reding (Head of Office, SwissCore).